John le Carré is the master of the spy novel, being able to draw upon his own experience in intelligence. It would, however, be quite wrong to classify him solely within that genre as he is rightly regarded as one of our greatest living novelists. Until recently I had wondered why he has never won the Booker prize but have now learned that he does not allow his books to be put forward for consideration.
I have read 15of le Carré’s novels and still have a few to go. Two that I have not yet read are regarded as among his best. These are The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1963) and A Perfect Spy (1986). These omissions are the result of having seen the outstanding Martin Ritt film of the former, starring Richard Burton, and a BBC serialisation of the latter. My memories of these have faded with time and I may well get round to reading the novels.
Another of le Carré’s books which has been serialised on television was the excellent Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), with Alec Guinness as George Smiley, probably the author’s most memorable character, who appears in several of his books. In that case, I had read the novel before it was televised. If there is anyone out there who has not yet discovered John le Carré, this novel is a good place to start. It is the first of a trilogy, so the pleasure can be continued with The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley’s People (1980).
Of the le Carré novels I have read, there are only two which I did not particularly enjoy. One was his second novel, A Murder of Quality (1962), which I thought was ordinary and The Tailor of Panama (1996), where there was a distinct change of tone and style. Single and Single (1999) is an enjoyable read but a minor work.
Of the novels not previously mentioned, I thoroughly recommend the following:
- The Looking Glass War (1965)
- A Small Town In Germany (1968)
- The Little Drummer Girl (1983)
- The Russia House (1989)
- The Secret Pilgrim (1991)
- The Night Manager (1993)
- Our Game (1995)
- The Constant Gardener (2001)
- Absolute Friends (2004)
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